Page 9 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Retail Buying

Notes franchiser or licenser or purchased by buyers for distribution to the individual units.
Generally, the individual stores have no buying responsibility. In some situations, however,
the individual merchants have some say about the merchandise assortments they will
carry in their stores.

Example: In the Benetton organization, where the company produces several thousand
styles, the individual licensees have the right to choose or “buy” the items from the company
that they believe best satisfy the needs of their customers. Thus, while they do not have the right
to make purchases from outside vendors, as most buyers do, they do have these limited purchasing
privileges.
 Catalogs: The catalog phenomenon continues to grow. What was once a method to bring
some extra sales revenue to retailers, catalog selling is now a retailing mainstay? The
major department stores such as Macy’s, Marshall Field, Bloomingdale’s, Belk, and Dillard’s,
as well as the chains like Victoria’s Secret, Crate & Barrel, and Pottery Barn use catalogs
throughout the year to reach their markets. Some of the stores feature catalogs in which
the merchandise is available only through this means.

Example: Some like Macy’s have separate buying staffs to buy the merchandise that is
featured in the catalogs.
Other retail organizations use the catalog as their only means to reach the target markets.
They have neither stores in which customers may shop nor any other means to sell their
goods.

Example: Spiegel is primarily a catalog operation, with just a few retail closeout centers
used to dispose of slow-selling items.
 Home Shopping Networks: With more and more people having less time to shop in stores,
cable television has given them the opportunity to make purchases right from their easy
chairs. The two major entries are QVC and HSN. They sell a variety of merchandise with
the specialties of both being jewelry and women’s apparel. With reported sales by these
major outlets at more than 25,000 transactions per hour, the buyers are constantly scouring
the globe for merchandise.

 Internet: In terms of overall retail sales, the Internet has yet to generate significant revenues
for the majority of the companies using it, in order to make them profitable. Each year,
however, they regularly beat the previous year’s sales. This channel is being used by
retailers all over the world with established stores and catalogue operations. Some
businesses are based exclusively on the Net, with this their only means of selling to
consumers.

Did u know? One enormously successful Web site is amazon.com, which sells books and
CDs at discounted prices.
As with the other retail concepts such as the in-store ventures and off-site outlets, the buyer
plays a significant role.

Dollar Volume

When one thinks of the department store buyer of both the flagship and branch stores, the dollar
volume and responsibility for purchasing is generally enormous. By contrast, the buyer for a

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